This story first appeared on our sister site, The Chicago Business Journal.
Amazon will bring its cashier-free Amazon Go stores to Chicago.
Amazon Go stores will allow customers to pick up items, pay and leave without waiting in line.
The first store opened in Seattle earlier this year, and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) now has plans to open more locations in both Chicago and San Francisco, according to the Seattle Times.
The company is not confirming the Chicago location, but in February real-estate site Curbed surfaced a building permit for a 625-square-foot “Amazon store” in Chicago’s Loop district.
Customers can download the Amazon Go app and scan a code that allows them to shop in the store for items like eggs, milk and over-the-counter pain killers. Store sensors and cameras track what customers remove or replace on the shelves and charge the user accordingly. The receipt is then sent to the user’s app.
The technology may eventually expand into local grocery stores.
The Seattle-based company recently acquired Whole Foods in a deal that closed last August. The deal passed along Whole Food's 87,000 employees and more than 460 stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Amazon has also opened more than a dozen bookstores.
This isn’t Amazon’s only move in the Chicago area. The e-commerce giant recently hired about 800 workers at a new small-parcel sorting center in the Chicago area. The Crest Hill-based facility launched last October and created new full-time jobs, in addition to part-time positions during the holidays.
Amazon announced plans in 2016 for a facilities in Monee and Aurora. It also maintains locations in Joliet, Romeoville and Edwardsville. The company’s projected local employment is nearing 8,000.
